1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop placed at end portions of right and left fastener tapes, and more particularly, to a slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop comprising a fitting body and a pivot stopper body and having a structure capable of engaging the fitting body with the pivot stopper body according to two ways of engagement operations.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, as a separable bottom end stop of the slide fastener, there has been known a side open type separable bottom end stop which allows a fitting body formed on one of a pair of right and left fastener stringers to be inserted and engaged with an engaging body formed on the other fastener stringer from a side portion of the engaging body without passing of the fitting body through an element guide passage in a slider. Further, for example, Japanese Utility Model Application Publication (JP-Y) No. 59-25227 has disclosed an invention relevant to this kind of side open type separable bottom end stop.
In the side open type separable bottom end stop disclosed in the JP-Y-59-25227, the engaging body and the fitting body of the separable bottom end stop are fixed to end portions of right and left element rows so that they oppose each other. The engaging body comprises: a slider holding portion which is formed on both front and rear surfaces of the fastener tape to hold the slider; a fitting portion, which is formed thicker than the slider holding portion on a tape end side of the slider holding portion and engages with the fitting body; a recessed groove, which is formed in the side face of the slider holding portion and in an inner side face of the fitting portion; and a projection projecting from the intermediate portion of the recessed groove. The fitting portion includes a supporting hole formed in an inverted L shape from the side face of the fitting body side toward a central portion of the fitting portion such that it penetrates through the front and rear surfaces of the fitting portion, the supporting hole having an inverted C shape as seen in its front view.
The fitting body has a fitting plate portion formed in such a thickness as to fit to the recessed groove possessed by the engaging body, and a recessed portion of a shape corresponding to the projection on the engaging body side face of the fitting plate portion. The tape end side of the fitting plate portion is provided with a thicker swollen portion than the fitting plate portion. The swollen portion has a supporting pin projecting to both the tape front and rear surfaces.
Right and left fastener stringers in the slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop of side open type having the above-described configuration are closed as follows. After the slider is slid to a position which makes contact with the fitting portion of the engaging body and brought into contact therewith, the supporting pin of the fitting body is inserted into the supporting hole in the engaging body. At this time, the supporting pin of the fitting body is supported stably at an end portion of the supporting hole because the fitting portion of the engaging body has an inverted C shape. Next, the fitting body whose supporting pin is inserted into the supporting hole is rotated toward the engaging body around the supporting pin, whereby the fitting plate portion of the fitting body is inserted into the slider through an interval between the upper and lower flanges of the slider. Consequently, the right and left element rows are positioned so as to enable stable engagement. Thereafter, by sliding the slider in an element engagement direction (by pulling up), right and left element rows are engaged with each other so as to close the slide fastener.
The separating operation is performed as follows in the slide fastener with a separable bottom end stop of side open type. The slider is slid toward the separable bottom end stop and brought into contact with the fitting portion of the engaging body, and then, the fitting body is rotated around the supporting pin in a direction that it departs from the engaging body. Consequently, the fitting plate portion of the fitting body is released from the slider. Further, when the supporting pin of the fitting body is pulled out of the supporting hole in the engaging body, the right and left fastener stringers are separated from each other.
The slide fastener with a separable bottom stop end of side open type has the following advantageous effects. By inserting the supporting pin of the fitting body into the supporting hole formed in the engaging body to rotate the fitting body or by pulling out the supporting pin inserted into the supporting hole from the engaging body, the right and left fastener stringers can be positioned and separated. Thus, the aforementioned slide fastener does not require an operation of inserting an insert pin through the interior of the slider when fitting the insert pin into a box of a slide fastener with an ordinary separable bottom end stop comprising the insert pin, box pin and box. This improves operability of the separable bottom end stop, so that the right and left fastener stringers can be closed or separated very easily.
Accordingly, the side open type separable bottom end stop can be applied to for example, a product in which the operation of the slide fastener is required to be done with a single hand, a product in which the operation of the slide fastener is performed by groping because the position of the separable bottom end stop cannot be recognized directly, or a product in which the operation of the slide fastener is required in an environment which is not suitable for a delicate work.
The side open type separable bottom end stop described in the JP-Y-59-25227 allows closing operation and separation operation of the slide fastener to be carried out more easily than an ordinary separable bottom end stop comprising the insert pin, box pin and box and secures excellent availability. However, the side open type separable bottom end stop is completely different from the ordinary separable bottom end stop comprising the insert pin and the like in terms of operation methods for engagement and pulling out, and has not been recognized highly or known well by users.
Thus, although the slide fastener having the side open type separable bottom end stop is easy to operate for closing or separation, a user accustomed to the ordinary separable bottom end stop having the insert pin and the like sometimes feels trouble in the operation of the side open type separable bottom end stop. Therefore, until the user becomes accustomed to the operation of the side open type separable bottom end stop, the user sometimes tries to insert the fitting body into the slider when engaging the fitting body with the engaging body or sometimes tries to pull the fitting body strongly toward the slider when pulling out the fitting body from the engaging body. For this reason, availability thereof is worsened further.